Work efficiency is a goal of all enterprise systems. Enterprises use a vast number of different systems and applications designed to increase user productivity. Although many technological advances have helped users increase their efficiency, the number of systems used to track every aspect of our work also increases the amount of information each enterprise user must process. Keeping all of these systems up to date can introduce additional steps into the user's workflow. The more systems and tools put at the user's disposal, the more information the user must move between the different applications and systems. For example, when a user receives an email, they may need to update a status in SALESFORCE, JIRA, CONCUR, an internal docketing system, and other services. This can be time consuming, especially for a user of a mobile device. Additionally, the user might not realize the significance of content received in one application to information in another system.
Current technology offers little assistance to the user in this regard. When an email client does not have access to a backend system, it is completely up to the user to recognize and understand how information in one system relates to the other. Very little context or notice is given. For example, an email that impacts one of the user's accounts in SALESFORCE still looks like a normal email. The user might not recognize the sender as a current or potential sales lead. They, therefore, might not update SALESFORCE. They also do not receive note that they should prioritize that email over any others in their inbox.
Managing related content in backend systems can be particularly difficult on a mobile user device. Screen space can be limited, so opening multiple applications to search for related information and actions can be cumbersome. Additionally, moving information between applications can require exiting or minimizing one application and opening another. Manually copying information between applications and unassociated backend systems can be difficult.
For at least these reasons, a need exists for hero cards that display contextual and relevant information for backend systems.